Wash. Times Serves As Newswire For The Chamber Of Commerce

The Washington Times published an op-ed by Evan Bayh and Andy Card arguing that "Congress needs to dial back Obama's rule-making machine." However, the Times failed to disclose that Bayh and Card are employed by the Chamber of Commerce to promote its deregulation agenda through media appearances.

A June 2 memo from Chamber President Tom Donohue reported that "the Chamber has recently enlisted former White House Chief of Staff Andy Card and former Senator Evan Bayh who will carry a bipartisan message on regulatory reform out around the country through a 'road show' of speeches, events, and media appearances at various local venues."

The op-ed by Bayh and Card echoes Donohue's memo, which outlines how the Chamber will be "making the case for broader regulatory reform" and "telling the story about the dangers and costs of over-regulation."

For instance, Donohue wrote that the Chamber is "working to build support" for the following policies:

Requiring Congress to cast an up or down vote on significant new rules (costing $100 million or more) before they can take effect.

Raising the regulators' burden of proof in court.

Requiring independent review of major rules to see if they are needed and workable and if the benefits justify the costs.

Bayh and Card called for similar changes: Passing "legislation in Congress to guarantee an up-or-down vote, with no Senate filibuster, on regulations with an economic impact of more than $100 million," granting citizens "judicial access and tools they need to hold federal agencies accountable for limiting regulatory burdens and for using sound science to support proposed rules," and requiring "more rigorous cost-benefit analysis" with "independent verification."

Similarly, Donohue wrote:

Let me state plainly and clearly: The American business community has long recognized the need for sensible regulations to ensure workplace safety, guarantee worker rights, and protect public health. Companies need clear rules of the road.

And Bayh and Card stated in the Wash. Times op-ed:

Make no mistake, we need some regulations. Businesses require certainty and "rules of the road," and we need adequate protections for health and public safety.

Donohue also claimed that regulations "from the health care and financial reform laws" and "the Environmental Protection Agency" are overly burdensome. In the Washington Times, Bayh and Card similarly lamented "the huge flow of regulations in the pipeline generated by the health care and financial reform laws as well as the large number of major rules generated by the Environmental Protection Agency in the past two years."

On December 7, President-elect Donald Trump named Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt as his pick to head the Environmental Protection Agency. Media should take note of Pruitt’s climate science denial, his deep ties to the energy industries he will be charged with regulating, and his long record of opposition to EPA efforts to reduce air and water pollution and combat climate change.

President-elect Donald Trump has picked -- or considered -- nearly a dozen people who have worked in right-wing media, including talk radio, right-wing news sites, Fox News, and conservative newspapers, to fill his administration. And Trump himself made weekly guest appearances on Fox for a number of years while his vice president used to host a conservative talk radio show.